The first thing I noticed was that the road didn't continue on ahead. And even though I kept going in the very same direction for almost a week now, and with almost no obstacles whatsoever, my designated path cut into a sharp, right turn. Continuing from there, the path began its slow descent down the steep, white chalk cliffs, on top of which I currently stood. Going through a number of turns and switchbacks, the road would then continue to reach downwards, eventually reaching sea level and the semi-circular coastline resembling Horseshoe Bay. Slithering down for hundreds of feet like a serpent in its natural habitat, this route would increase the distance I'd have to cover to reach the coast by a multitude.

Or so I expected it to go. Truth was, still standing a few feet away from the edge, I couldn't see a whole lot from up here. Still, my expectations remained with the road providing a longer distance for me to cover than necessary, and I didn't like that. Though in hindsight, the suggested method probably still included a lot more comfort than simply tumbling down the cliff all at once. Which would mean hitting my head as hard as if I fell down from the peak of Cadence's crystal palace. And that would hurt. A lot.

The second thing was I realized the road didn't go on the same way because it simply couldn't. With steep cliffs, there was no more ground up ahead, and that made for some very unfortunate conditions regarding construction work. Duh. It's not like they could just build a bridge for me to continue. Where would that even lead to?

Stepping closer to the edge, I risked a risky look downwards. Risky, since that move could easily lead to my early downfall in a broad variety of ways. Literally. Either way, in the end getting thrown off a cliff would just get me where I needed to be in the first place. And a lot quicker at that. With great speed may come great responsibility and pain, but if all else failed, I could still live with that.

The sun was shining down from behind me, casting a long shadow all across the grounds hidden from its light by the bay's cliffs. One that reached way, way over the wide beach that lay beneath it, and well into the water. Which also lay beneath it. Go figure. Most of the gulf's surface shimmered in a strange shade that became a fusion of its usual turquoise mixed into the reflections of the sky that was still divided into light and darkness. The specter displayed faded from a bright azure to a dark, purplish navy blue. The further east and further away from the coast anything lay, the darker it would be in appearance. Even though the sun still kept on shining its light onto those parts.

I didn't understand that either. And should I ever try to change that, I'd first need to understand myself before moving on to more complex subjects. Seems legit, doesn't it?

Overshadowed by the cliff side itself, and as part of the nearby landscape I described earlier, the road was also plunged into shadows from here on. Oh well. I could use a few minutes of way's time during which I wouldn't get directly exposed to the bright solar radiation from above. I already spent what felt like an entire week in the luminous light of a never ending afternoon. The same part of one day lasting for several weeks, so to speak. And all the while, the powerful summer sun bore down on myself and the land around me. Left on its own accord, it didn't make any effort to decrease its power or move up or down even for a single inch.

One thing I hadn't considered when leaving home was the climate in southern Equestria, which was said to be especially unforgiving during this time of the year. Though I should have known, really. I've had my very own taste of that bitter medicine one or two times before. Taking part in one or another trip to the city of Dodge Junction, I'd have to try pretty hard not to notice that aspect. Heck, me and Rarity even got stranded in the desert once, with nothing but an old manual trolley to get us back on track...or something. On the upside, I had plenty of time to ponder on the advantages and disadvantages of the words chimicherry and cherrychanga. That was fun. Or so I thought. Unfortunately, Rarity refused to speak to me after that for almost a week.

Well, I suppose she had her reasons.

That didn't matter now. The actual difference to back then wasn't Rarity being mad at me. No, there was something much more basic I never even thought about, prior to my trip. Because every time I've gone to some of the more hotter regions in our country, each day was normally followed by an equally long and powerful night to cool the land's temperature back down from what the day had borne down upon it. Only right now, such a thing as night didn't even seem to exist, even though we were still engulfed in half a night all the time. As I could tell from experience, the moon didn't do any good in blocking out the sun's heat, unless otherwise intended. This way, Celestia's fireball continued to heat up everything without any break, and with no means to stop. Hopefully, the princesses would come back to their senses soon. This couldn't go on for much longer.

Really. The heat had well gotten to me as well, believe it or not. Drops of sweat continued to trickle down my flanks ever since I left the Everfree Forest and the gloomy dusk that still reigned inside it at every time of the day. After that however, it hadn't taken much longer than an hour or two for my coat to become all sticky and uncomfortable, glued to my skin without much apparent use. And there wasn't any way I could wash that off in those desolate plains. I'd spent days just darting from one minor source of water to another, occasionally resting my bones beneath the branches of lone olive trees or cypresses.

At times, the constant chirping of the cicadas living inside them nearly got me lulled to sleep, even in these  heavy conditions. But in the end, they never actually got to me. I had my very own sleep schedule, and that consisted of keeping my rest to a bare minimum in order to advance as quickly as possible. Outside of my casual breaks, I tried never to get off course even once. Despite my own survival being kind of vital to the whole mission, I didn't have a second's time to lose.

Needless to say, the entire trip here was a bit exhausting. Especially trotting along those dirt roads for days without end became nothing but dull and tiresome after a while, and I had to stretch my song repertoire to a very delicate limit in order to keep myself entertained. All the while, the ground was pretty inviting to walking upon, but everyone's hooves get sore after a while or two.

I would've taken the train, but that didn't work either. I mean, the engine itself probably would have, but the rails it needed to travel on didn't go straight to Baltimare. In fact, the only route heading there took a detour through Canterlot along the way...well, it used to. Right now, and as far as I knew, the entire service was completely interrupted. And any alternative tracks had never been build. Not until now, they hadn't.

All things considered, I could consider myself more than lucky, just standing in this place right now. As I did, I believed to have managed through the hardest part of the journey. From now on, I'd be traveling on water, and that meant some sort of vessel to carry me. If I didn't want to swim all across the ocean, that was. Even I wouldn't be capable of covering that distance. What? I don't run on rechargeable batteries or anything.

That being said, I allowed myself to a short rest, and appreciate the view for a few moments. Because if anything, it was definitely worth the appreciation.

This oddly colored gulf spanned a good fifteen miles across at its widest expanse. Given the elliptical shape, the bay's shores proceeded to close in on one another to both sides from there. Only while they joined to become one on the western end, facing the continent, the opposite ones abruptly ended about halfway through their approach, then made way for the vast ocean that lay beyond. Merely two narrow, sandy capes stretched out further east for another half-mile or so, connected to the main landmass at the same, odd angle. Beyond those, the deeply violet waters overtook the entire scenery, palely illuminated by the full moon and the stars from above.

The cliffs also continued for a good while to both my left and right. Only about halfway to the oceanic shore did they suddenly and rapidly descent, lowering themselves to sea level within a few hundred meters or so. For a good while, I did wonder why I couldn't just walk down to Baltimare on top of them; an approach that seemed to work out just as well, after all. Then again, somepony must have had a reason to construct this road the way they did. And I decided just to roll with their decision. Nothing could go wrong that way, could it?

As I started turning towards the descending street still ahead of me, my view briefly wandered over to my left, and the city that was planted onto Horseshoe Bay's opposite end. Or maybe that's not the correct term. The city wasn't just located on the northern shore, the coastline itself pretty much consisted of nothing else. Stretching out for miles, a huge urbanized area started off as soon as the cliffs dropped down towards the beach, then went on until it couldn't grow any longer, cut short by the ocean's coast. Beyond what I saw, Baltimare probably pushed a good distance into the land beyond, as well. As any city, I was sure this one would be divided into smaller districts, some of which were more or less wealthy, or designated to whatever significant cause there may be. But at this distance, there wasn't any way to tell. The entire place simply appeared as a large, homogenous area to me, loosely transcending from one smaller part to another.

The only thing standing out were a small number of skyscrapers placed right in the middle of the entire construct, about half a mile off the bay's coast and a bit further from the ocean. To its south, I recognized what obviously must have been the harbor area, with dozens of piers and docks reaching out into the bay. For some reason, these ponies had apparently decided to construct their port inside the bay, instead of placing it directly by the ocean. That didn't make sense to me on first try, but then again, I could manage with whatever would float their boat. Pun intended.

The harbor district itself seemed a bit dull on first sight, looking at it from this distance. I managed to spot a number of ships and smaller vessels sailing towards or away from the docks, but apart from that, everything looked like nothing but a gray, pulpy mess. Some of these boats didn't seem to go on any larger journey; they kept drifting on through the bay on what I presumed to be a relaxed afternoon trip, while only the larger ones left for the deeper ocean waters, venturing on into parts unknown. Indeedy. I should consider writing poetry one day.

A knowing grin formed on my muzzle the more I kept looking upon the scenery. One thing was for sure, I had definitely come to the right place for where I was about to go. Like, I was going here, of course. But I also had to move on further. And this seemed like the right place to do that. Also, besides amazing, the view provided from up here was also highly informative and provided a great boost in confidence. Enjoying this definitely made me feel better than the long, boring walk I just went through. The only thing missing was somepony to share all this with. If only...

I swiftly turned away from the sight, started to walk down the road, rapidly blinking a few times just in case. There was no use in going back to my last discussion with Fluttershy, even though her last words kept reverberating in my head ever since. Combined with the look on her face when I last saw her before that darn door closed between us...and don't forget the uncontrollable sobbing. The memory didn't leave me now, and I didn't expect it to do so for a really long time. But then again, that was just one of many unfortunate things I expected from this journey. And I accepted them nevertheless because I still did feel convinced about doing the right thing.

I kept going; I did that because I knew I was right. And if only I'd believe in myself, nothing could go any more wrong and I could successfully complete the task given to me by the princesses. Fluttershy would forgive me, then. For everything. Once she saw that my intentions had been sincere all along, she really couldn't criticize me any longer. We would get back together with our other friends, Canterlot would be rebuilt, and everything ending up just like old times. Everypony could be happy again, right after this nightmare ended. And I was the one who could make it happen. Or so I hoped.

Trotting forward in a way as light as I could possibly manage, I tried to get her words out of my head somehow. Get out - every single one of these words still felt like an icy sting in the chest, and I'd have done my best to forget about them. Turning my view to the two pink hooves still covering the distance and dirt beneath me, I wanted nothing more than to think of something else. And what would that be? Cake? That was a nice subject alright. But it didn't do any good trying to forget that I made Fluttershy cry only a few days back - my reckless behavior causing all this, no less. Knowing about that gives you an entirely new way of miserableness, and that's hard to describe to someone who never actually looked in those two, watery turquoise eyes, only one thought crossing the brain at that moment: I made that happen.

I wouldn't want anyone to ever get into that kind of situation. Including myself, that normally is. Then again, I pretty much deserved what I got. I guess. Even though none of this was my fault...or was it? The entire situation felt so difficult, I hardly even knew which way to turn, myself.

How many times I needed to switch directions in order to further follow the way down, I couldn't tell. I wasn't even so sure how many of these curves there were left behind me, after a while. At about three or so, I simply stopped counting. With nothing to draw any distraction from but rocks and gravel, it didn't come much to a surprise that I couldn't concentrate on what was happening right here and now.

Also, rocks. Why must it always be rocks? I felt plagued with more than enough bad memories as it was, and these sure didn't help. Maud would have liked them, that much I could tell. But she wasn't here, and all I felt when looking at these grayish stones was some age-old depression trying to tuck down the corners of my mouth for all it was worth. Sure, I didn't mind most of the times I ever saw a rock or anything related, and they're almost everywhere in Equestria. But usually, I'm also a lot more cheerful to begin with, not having that many difficult issues resting on my mind.

After what could have either been ten minutes or two hours, I arrived at the bottom of the cliffs, my hooves now touching down on the ground at the same height as the sea water's surface. Simultaneously, the path itself started to cut back on the quarry stuff and changed back to a simple dirt road running along the cliffs. Which was a lot more comfortable to walk on, to say the least.

There was a wide beach stretching out to my right, providing some more cooled down space, well-protected from the sun as it was. For some reason however, the entire area lay completely deserted as of now. Much like everyone from around here felt much too lazy to walk this far out of town. The only moving objects visible were a small number of privately owned boats and yachts all around the bay, but even the closest of those were about a mile or so off-shore. Apart from all that, I was alone.

Well, that's not true actually. While there wasn't anypony on the beach itself, doing...well, beach things, I did in fact notice someone approach me, who was walking down the road the opposite way. They were still a good distance away, but I was sure that this shape I just spotted ahead kept moving towards me. Even as I started to move forward in order to meet them halfway, I took a couple of minutes to recognize any details about this other traveler. But that didn't matter. I felt my mood being lifted already by the sheer presence of someone else being around. If there was anything that would distract me from grim thoughts on this journey, that would be the opportunity of making a new friend along the way. Also, the whole thing was fun in general because that's what making friends is. Yay.

Drawing closer, I could make out a detail or two about this unexpected visitor, and froze in my tracks from sudden realization. It wasn't exactly shocking, just weird. Because there wasn't a pony approaching me. Whoever this was looked more like a donkey...drawing a carriage behind himself. Crossing my path...with me preparing to make friends with him...

Deja vu? Tell me about it. But I had my experiences with Cranky, and those wouldn't discourage me. Besides, why should they? I had a hard time getting through to him back when we first met, but he did come around eventually. Just like everyone else I ever tried to befriend did at some point. Considering all that, there really wasn't any reason for me to feel any more down or nervous than I already did. Not that I felt nervous in the first place, but I also didn't need to change that now. Instead, I started happily bouncing towards him, whistling a cheerful tune, until we were less than a few feet apart. That took another few minutes, but the tune itself was from some super-special extended Kraftpferd song, and those always take a bit longer, anyways.

And just then, just as planned, I stopped. Looking him right in the eyes, a welcoming smile on my face, I did my best for a decent first impression. If that message came across very well, or at all, I couldn't tell immediately. All I saw was that my new companion stopped dead in his tracks about as soon as I did, giving me a number of very confused looks. He didn't say anything yet, as if the whole situation suddenly brought him to a loss of words. Old charmer.

"Hi, I'm Pinkie Pie!" I joyously chirped, just being myself as always. "How are you? Did you come here from that city over there? Oh, oh, and: Do you actually come from there, or are you just passing through? And where to and from? What's your name, anyways?"

The donkey blinked in confusion, a few times, maybe more. I'm not sure where to draw the line in that aspect. As he did, I also noticed a number of wrinkles that had already formed on his face and forehead. He seemed a great deal older than myself, maybe even about Cranky's age. Like I said, deja vu. This was almost getting unreal. Was there a glitch in the Matrix? Also, what the hay did that just mean?

"Can I help you?" the donkey asked in a hoarse, raspy voice. He didn't seem all that friendly. "I don't wanna bother you, but if you're looking for some decent advice, let me give this one to you. Because you smell like you haven't seen a bathtub in weeks, kid. No offense, but I don't think a lot of ponies are gonna be very fond of your companionship that way."

Kid? Seriously? What was with every donkey I met calling me that all the time? It's not like I'm a filly or something. Not anymore, at least. Probably.

His other remark still made me giggle though. It was funny because he was right. I really hadn't cleaned myself in ages. And of course I didn't enjoy that either. But making a new friend soon lets you forget about the hardships of life, so was it really necessary to remind me? Then again, if it was that noticeable, maybe I should be a tad more concerned my hygiene. Or maybe, I should just push the conversation towards some other subject. There wasn't any damage here that couldn't easily be undone, after all.

"Tee-hee. It's funny you should say that," I told him. "There really haven't been that many opportunities to get cleaned up...but anyway, that's not why we're here, is it? Besides, I don't need to do that now. I'll be getting on a ship pretty soon, you know. And there should be loads of water all around, once I'm there. Pretty sure there'll be plenty of time for bathing."

"Yeah, more like nopony's gonna notice your smell, no matter what," he snorted. "From the vessel's I've known, you'll probably be the least stinking thing on there."

He chuckled at his own comment. While that only lasted briefly, no longer than a split-second, I noticed it nevertheless. Recognizing that as the first step towards a genuine smile, I kept pushing forward, trying to get through to him. "Yeah, maybe. Oh, that reminds me. Have you been on a lot of cruises? That just sounded like you're super experienced with those..."

"No, I didn't," he cut me short. "I'm not a sailor or anything. But I know a thing or two. Which just so happens when you grow up on the coast." A remorseful sigh on his parting lips, he rubbed his forehead in some frustration. "Listen kid, I need to get going. All this cargo isn't gonna deliver itself, and..."

"Whaaat?" I whined, as he took a step forward. "Are you not even gonna ask me where I'm going?"

Grunting, the donkey, whose name I still didn't know, rolled his eyes. "Where are you going, then?"

"Oh, oh, good thing you ask." I grinned at him, hoping my joke would somehow make it across. "I'm going on a super special mission to some other land that's, like, really, really important. I don't know where exactly I need to go, yet. But it's probably somewhere south-east from here. I have a special sense that told me so, is all...can we be friends?"

"Oh...okay, you're probably nuts," he replied, after blinking in confusion for some more moments. "One advice, kid: Drop the attitude. Baltimare's port can be a bit of a rough place, not to mention any of the ships leaving it. You're not gonna get anywhere acting naive as a filly, except maybe cornered somewhere. I don't think you'd want that. Oh, and..." he trailed off for a moment, sniffing the air around him. "Do make sure to get a bath. Honestly? It couldn't do anything but improve your approach at this point. Have a nice day."

And with a motion of his forehoof that looked much like he was tipping an invisible hat, the donkey set himself back in motion, towards the path leading up the cliff. He didn't seem particularly interested in paying me any more attention. Why, though? Did I come across that dull? Maybe I should have packed on some more sugar. And then there was that other thing...

"Wait!" I yelled, bouncing up and down behind him. Because there really did remain one super important thing both of us almost managed to forget about, somehow. "You didn't say we could be friends, yet. Can we? Can we? Please?"

Sighing once more, but without any effort to stop himself, he mumbled: "Yes, of course, what the hay. We can be friends, just..."

"Yay! Thank you so much, you don't know what this me..."

"...just stop following me, alright?"

Follow him? Why would I even do that? Weren't we headed in opposite directions, just now?

"Follow you?" I asked, earnestly speaking out my thoughts. "Why would I even do that? Weren't we just headed in opposite directions, and so on?"

"Huh? Yes, of course we were. You need to get to Baltimare, get on your precious ship, and stay exactly 20,000 leagues away from me, thank you very much."

So now he wanted to get rid of me? That wasn't very friendly, either. "But...but, we're still friends, right?"

"Yes, of course. Now, do me a favor, and do have a nice day."

"Okie-dokie-lokie," I squeaked, bouncing off in the opposite direction. While still facing away from me, I think I saw my new friend shake his head in disbelief, just then. But that could mean just about anything. After all, we were friends now. And he couldn't possibly be any more glum after that. Being friends with somepony new makes everyone more cheerful, no matter what species they are. And even if there were any problems, friends could always talk about those to each other, right? I initially planned to do that, but ultimately decided to leave him some space for time being. He didn't seem in the mood, just now.

That being said, I eventually turned around and started leaping down the road with newly found enthusiasm. All the while, I never even bothered about still not having learned his name. Or not having seen him smile. There's a time and place for everything. Besides, the whole subject just...didn't come to mind right away. I suppose all these heavy thoughts lasting on my mind from earlier simply weren't forgotten about completely, and I had some good reasons not to let them slip away. But at least I managed to get Fluttershy and my own guilt out of my face for a while, so that's that. A bit of joy never hurt anyone, as once again proven.

Looking towards the still impressive sight that was Baltimare, now in plain sight and right before me, I let my eyes wander freely over the aspects of this great city, some of which became a lot clearer with every new step I took towards it. There were supposedly two or three more miles to cover until I'd reach the outskirts of town, which was just as well. Maybe this way, I'd actually have some time to think about what to do next for once. All thing considered, planning ahead could in fact help me in one way or another. Of course, just getting on the right ship shouldn't be this hard now, should it? I'd just make a few new friends, and with their help, get out into open waters super spectacularly quick. And just now, I confirmed to myself that my friend-making skills still rested at the very top of my abilities. Easy-peasy.

Drawing in another lungful of the fresh, salty air surrounding me, I pursed my lips, and started whistling some other song. The mood didn't really matter right now, it just so happened to be the first one I could think of. I think this one was actually written by somepony I definitely knew, even a friend of mine. Lyra Heartstrings had composed that melody a while back, then dedicated it to her flatmate. Which is where its title When Bonnie Comes Marching Home derives from.

Like I said, she's a bit weird. Next Chapter: Chapter 9 - Dockland Conspiracies Estimated time remaining: 3 Hours, 12 Minutes